Peanut digger



J. D. DAVIS PEANUT DIGGER May 6, 1930.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 3, 1927 [{VVENTOR. avns Joel D. D

IV, ,d'

A #TORNEYS May 6,1930. D, D VIS 1,757,654

3 Sheets-sheaf 2 A TTORNEYS ,Filed' Nov. 5, 1927 J. D. DAVIS May 6, 1930.

Filed Nov. 3, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I E g INVENTOR. Joel D. Davis Patented May 6, 1930 JOEL DELSON DAVIS, or 'smI'THF IE m vmemra e meenn t The subject matter of this application is a digger particularly designed for 'the"d1gging of peanuts, potatoes and similar veger tables.

One object of the'invention is to provide a digger which can be easily and cheaply mann facturedr Another object of the invention 1s to pro? vide a digger of thistype which will eliminate practically all manual operations involved to in the separation of the vegetables, such as peanuts, from the soil containing them.

Other objects of the inventionwlll become apparent as the detaileddescription proceeds. 1

In the drawings V Figure 1 is a plan view of my digger; Figure 2' is a. side elevation of one side thereof; 1 1 h I 2Q Figure 3 is a side elevation of. the other side of said digger';

Figure 1 is a fragmentary section on line H of Figure 1; a I Figure 5 1s a fragmentarydeta l on an en larged scale of a means for shaking the dig-j ging plate of the" digger; V v V 7 V Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan v ew of the digging blade with tines extend ng rear.- wardly thereof; and -i a taken on line 77'of Figure 1.

The digger comprises avmain frame 1 hav-.

ing rearwardly extending branches 2 and 3, bolted or otherwise suitably secured at then 35 jrear ends to lugs a and 5, extending forwardly from the sleeves 6 and 7, respectively. The

sleeve 6 is rotatably mounted on the shaft and is secured in rotatable positlon on said" shaft by means of collars 9 and 10 arranged 4 .3011 said shaft on opposite sides of sleeve 6', and secured to saidshaft by means of the set screws, 11 and 12, respectively. Obviously,

this construction prevents lateral movement of the branch 2 on shaft 8. h 451:. The sleeve 7 is secured rotatably located'on shaft 8 by a collar 13,'fixed on said shaft against the inner side of branch 3 by means of a set screw 14. The other side of collar 7 contacts with the hub 15 of a large gear 16 Q3which is suitably fixed to shaft 8. Wheels 17 Figure 7 is a fragmentary crosssection;

Application filed November 3, 19271 Serial No. 230,863.

and 18 are'secured' in any suitable or usual 11121111161 to theoppositeends of shafts 8;

The digging or cutting blade 19 is piv-' oted'tothe arms 20 and 21 by seating the ends of arod'22, rigid with blade 19, rotatably 554 1 7 in brackets 23 and 24 suitably boltedor other- Wise secured to the arms 20 and 21. The rod 22 is providedwith tines '25 eXtendingre-arwardlybetween said arms 20 and 21. The rear ends of the arms 20' and 21 are bent to form collars 26-and 27', respectively, which the wheels 17 and '18, respectively. A

In order to raise or lower the blade 19 into. 1 or out of digging positionyacrank shaft 28 .is journaled in bearing blocks 29 and 30 suitably fixedionthebranches'2 and 30f the main are pivoted on shaft 8,.in lateral contactwith 7 frame 1. Crank-arms3l and 32 extend from opposite endsof: shaft. 28' and are connected pivotally at. their ends to the upper ends of rods 33 and 34 having their lower *en ds piv- V otallyzconnected in turn toeye bolts 35 and 36;:re'spectively, secured to the arms 20 and 21'. f :T he crank shaft 28 is rotated in either 'direction in the usual manner by a lever 37 fixed rigidly" to said shaft, and rotatable over a sectbr38 having teeth 39 adapted to be en-,

gaged byjthe' usual spring controlled lever 40 to: lock the lever 37 and crank shaft 28 in any desired position of adjustment. Aseat 41: isfconveniently secured toframel, with the lever 37 arranged to be conveniently.

operated from said seat. f

It will be obviousfromithe drawing'that when the lever 37 is "moved in" one direction orftlie other,- the rods 33 and 84 will raise or lowerf'the arms'20and 21and thereby raise or lower-the blade 19 out of or'into digging position. :In order that this adjustability of the digging'blade 19"-1nay be. :made available, it

is obviously'necessary to'have'the front end,

'of-Uth-e frame lfsupp orted-iata fixed distance above thegronnd. :For. this purpose,rthen,

the invention: includes a draw bar shaft 42 ably rotatably secured to opposite ends thereof. An inverted U-shaped-f bracket .45 ,ex-r 7 tends vertically u from; said shaft42; and;

hasfixed to the center :thereof'a draw bar 46,

which is braced to said bracket by the braces 47 and 48. p 7

An equalizer bar 49'is pivoted in the usual manner on {bar 46 by means of a bolt 50 extending through suitable alined apertures in a strap 51 and in bars 46 and 49. The strap 51 is ofisetatone end to extend over bar49, is securedto bar 46 bybolts 52, andterminates at its other end in a hook 53 adapted to 7 receive the eye 54 formed on the free end of a plate 55 which is securedbybolts56 betweenthe ends 57 and 58 of the frame branchcs2 and 3.

The invention also includes means for agitating the digging blade 19 and the tines 25 V to breaknp th'e dirt, and-separate itfromthe matter beingha rvested, during the voperation of the machine; Toeffect-this agitation one end; of therod 22 andcutterblade 19 hassuitably fixedithereto at. 59the'lower end of a.

rod 60, which forms a crank? arm for, slightly rotating rod'22 as a; crankshaft ;to agitate blade 19-and tines 25'. V

The upper end of rodz60 is pivoted'to one trically; pivoted. to thearm: 62 fixed "at the end'of a counter shaft 63, and rotated'by a pinion 64 movable into andout of mesh with the "gear: 16. p i p The-shaft;63 isjournaled neargonepf its ends'ina bearing 65 '(see-Figuresland 5) which is pivoted on frame branch 2; to permit the shaft 63 to swing about the pivot 66 and throw the pinion 64intoor outof mesh-with sgear 16 whenever desired. A strap 67 is bolted to branch 2 over the bearing 65 and has I a conical pointed set: screw- 68L screwed through said strap into engagement with {3 (301116211 recess in the'bear1ng65' to: form a;

alinement-r with=the pivot66ii The other bearing 69 (see Figure-'7 I shaft;63=is.slidablyrmounted on the branch 3 ofsframe 1, with sufficient play to allo'w shaft 63 to swing about. pivot '66 without binding. A plate70.-securecl to the top of'bearing 30 extends rearwardly and parallel with branch 3 over the bearing 69to form, with branch 3, gnidewayforbearing'69. i -i A link; 71-, is pivoted at one of its ends to the-bearing 69 and has itsotheri end pivoted second pivot for said bearing. in. diametrical ifor the of its extreme positions without thenecessity of locking it therein.

In order to dislodge the dug-up soil and material from the tines 25, the machine is shaft Stand rotates theknockers 77 constantlya while :the machine is in operation.

As will be: apparent from the description so far, the digger blade with its tines 25 may be lowered or-raised to or fromioperative positionby movement of lever 37, and that- .while it is in such position, rotation of the wheels 17 and 18 causes, through thegearing described, rotation of the knockers 78 to dislodge. material from the tines 25." At the same time rotation of the shaft 63 imparts an oscillatory movement to the: crank rod 60,

which, in turn, causesan oscillatory movement-of the blade 19 and tines 25 about-their pivotal connection with themembers 20 and lclaimz V A digger comprisinga shaft and a pair of v wheels secured to opposite ends of the shaft, a frame having one end journaled on said shaft, a wheeled support detachably and pivotally connected to the other end of said frame, a second frame having one end pivoted'to said shaftand'havin'g a cutting blade .pivoted onltheother end thereof, means for iraising and lowering the'blade supporting end of said second frame'rela-tive to thefirst named frame-'jand means connected to said shaft for oscillating said blade about its pivot axis on-said second frame. l

In testimony whereof I afiix m signature; a JOEL'DELSON DAVIS.

to arod 72 provided= with a handle. 3. The a rod-72 is pivoted atits end to ailug74 formed on thearm '5, and theen'd of link-7 1is pivoted to said rod .7 2rbetween its pivot and the-handle 7 3. When .the rod; 72 is positioned as. shown in Figure 7 the link 71 holdsthe bearing 69 J withthe; pinion 64 in1inesh. with gear 16; NVhen, the rod 72 is raised totheposition shown by; dot-ted lines, the link is thrown'.

forwardly.- and moves the bearing 69 with pin ion64hout= of meshlwith gear 16; and the eccentric pivotal connectionofilink 71 with rod 72J-causes the-bearing 69 to remain in either 

